Too Cool for School...shopping.

I've been watching the "Back to School" specials going on in our local stores.   So far, I haven't found anything I couldn't live without.    We're still pretty stocked up from last year and I have a lot of things that never even got opened.    If I *do* see something that I might want to add to our stash of craft supplies, I will definitely be waiting until it goes on clearance, after the public/private schools are back in session! 
I also noticed that Wal-Mart did not have the great prices like it used to!  A pack of Crayola crayons cost me just $.25 last year, and this year it is $.40.  Yikes.   It's also frustrating to see stores only offering one or two brands of something.   I have yet to find a pencil that doesn't take 20 tries to sharpen correctly!  If you have a brand that works, please let me know!  We spend too much time on junk pencils that break easily and don't sharpen well!   I've seriously considered letting XMan do his work with Hubby's sturdy carpenter pencils, ha.   Not sure what that would do for the handwriting though...
As far as curriculum shopping goes, I'm also ok there for right now.  Because of our move and the prolonged house searching that took place, we pretty much stopped school in late April and just left it where it was.   So XMan's second grade work still needs to be completed (at least for diligence sake - so he knows we don't just quit and move on).    Once we finish those books, which will take about another month, we will order his 3rd grade Heart of Dakota books.   I already have Little Man's kindergarten books and Sister's preschool items.  (Which, honestly, you don't *need* much of anything to do preschool!)  
So, the official start date is next Monday!   I've enjoyed seeing how many different ways people start their school year!  New schedules, new books, new goals and fresh perspectives.   Most homeschool moms start the year off with a bang and renewed energy!   It's that mid-year and end-of-cycle lull that starts to wear us thin, lol.   You know, when the big yellow bus starts to look slightly appealing, just for a minute or two.   Ha, and then you snap out of it and unlock the bathroom door and go try to teach multiplication again for the umpteenth time!    What a calling we have!!   :-D